Swaraj Engines Ltd (NSE - SWARAJENG) - Oct'13 Katalyst Wealth Alpha Recommendation

Swaraj Engines Ltd (NSE Code: SWARAJENG) – Alpha/Alpha + stock
recommendation for Oct’13

www.katalystwealth.com

Content Index

1. Company Snapshot
2. Swaraj Engines – Basic details
3. Turnaround of Swaraj Tractors after the takeover by M&M
4. Growth drivers for the tractors industry


More food from less land and human resources



Infusion of technologies



Govt. support for agriculture and rural development



Buoyancy in rural income with higher MSPs



Credit flow to agriculture

5. Swaraj Engines – Performance snapshot
6. Operating efficiency
7. Growth opportunities for Swaraj Engines
8. Shareholding pattern
9. Dividend Policy
10. Valuations
11. Risks & Concerns


Company Snapshot (As on 6th Oct’13)

Current Market Price – Rs 469

Dividend yield – 2.77%

BSE Code – 500407

NSE Code – SWARAJENG

Market capitalization – Rs 582 cr.

Total Equity shares – 1.242 cr.

Face Value – Rs 10.00

52 Weeks High/Low – Rs 535.00/ Rs 382.00

Particulars (in cr.)

FY 08

FY 09

FY 10

FY 11

FY 12

FY 13

Engines sold (in no.)

16,408

28,539

39,143

47,413

55,239

57,377

Income from operations

125.54

208.17

282.44

360.63

448.58

470.03

Operating Profit

23.90

31.87

49.57

60.71

69.37

71.49

Operating Profit margin (%)

19.04%

15.31%

17.55%

16.83%

15.46%

15.21%

Other Income

2.75

5.04

9.98

8.10

12.24

15.32

Depreciation

4.59

4.69

4.84

4.46

4.26

7.16

Profit Before tax

22.04

32.33

54.71

64.35

77.27

79.50

Tax expense

7.68

10.95

17.36

20.44

24.45

24.10

Net Profit

14.36

21.27

37.35

43.91

52.82

55.40

Cash flows from operations

39.85

31.53

37.1

30.56

49.87

47.46

Return on Avg. equity

18.08%

23.64%

34.00%

31.94%

31.21%

29.16%


Dear Members,
In all the gloom and doom surrounding the Indian economy, there’s been one major
positive this year and that is above average rainfall in almost all the parts of India. The
cumulative rainfall for the country as a whole till 1st Oct’13 was 6% above the average.
The rainfall has been in excess of 9% in all the regions, except east and northeast India
where it’s 28% below average.
In area-wise distribution, 48% area of the country received excess & 38% area received
normal rainfall. Remaining 14% area received deficient rainfall.

We believe good monsoon augurs well for companies related directly/indirectly to the
agriculture segment. While we already have VST Tillers Tractors under our coverage
another company in the same segment that looks good is Swaraj Engines (NSE Code –
SWARAJENG).


Swaraj Engines – Basic Details
Swaraj Engines (SEL) was set up by the Punjab government’s industrial development arm
in 1986, in technical and financial collaboration with Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL). It
was set up to manufacture diesel engines for sole supply for “Swaraj” brand of tractors
manufactured by Punjab Tractors (PTL). After several rounds of ownership changes, both
PTL and Swaraj Engines are now controlled by India’s largest tractors company, Mahindra
and Mahindra (M&M).
Swaraj Engines (SEL) manufactures 20-50 horsepower (HP) engines for “Swaraj” tractors
division of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M). Besides, it also supplies hi-tech engine
components to SML Isuzu Ltd for assembly of commercial vehicle engines; however this
division’s contribution to the turnover is very low at about 4-5%.
Since the start of commercial operations in 1989-90, SEL has supplied around 517,000
engines for fitment into “Swaraj” tractors.
As mentioned above, Swaraj brand of tractors were originally promoted by Punjab
Tractors Ltd (PTL). PTL also had 33.16% stake in Swaraj Engines along with Kirloskar Oil
Engines 17.39% stake. In June 2007 PTL was acquired by Mahindra and Mahindra and
thereby Mahindra ended up owning “Swaraj” brand of tractors and 33.22% stake in
Swaraj Engines while Kirloskar continues to be the co-promoter with 17.39% stake.
Since the takeover of PTL by M&M, there’s been complete turnaround in the fate of
“Swaraj” brand of tractors and the same has also rubbed off on Swaraj Engines. While
Swaraj tractors had slipped to 5th place with 9% market share before the acquisition by
M&M in 2007, it now commands a market share of 13.1% and ranks 3rd behind M&M
tractors and TAFE.


Turnaround of Swaraj Tractors after the takeover by M&M
Swaraj Engines major business is manufacturing diesel engines for Swaraj Tractors
division of M&M. Thus, its growth is eventually dependent on the growth of Swaraj
tractors division of M&M.
So let’s look at how M&M has fared in turning around PTL since its takeover in 2007 and
where does the company stand now. (Source: Business today)
When Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) acquired Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL) for Rs 1,489
crore in March 2007, the latter was a pale shadow of its former robust self. Once the
country's most profitable tractor company, with its 'Swaraj' brand renowned throughout
north India, PTL had suffered due to poor management, which had reduced it from being
the second biggest player in the industry at the turn of the century to fifth place. Started in
1970, with the Punjab government as the majority shareholder, PTL began floundering
after 2003 as the state government tried to divest its shareholding.
The acquisition of PTL made sense for M&M as well. In 2005, its number one position in
the industry had been threatened for the first time. That was the year when, in May,
Chennai-based Tractor and Farm Equipment (TAFE) bought Eicher Motors's tractor
division, increasing its market share to 22 per cent. This brought TAFE, whose earlier
market share was just 14 per cent, within striking distance of M&M, whose share was 31
per cent. The acquisition also gave TAFE an entry into northern markets such as Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, which account for a third of all tractor sales.
M&M needed to increase its lead and it did so by buying out PTL, raising its market share
to 40 per cent. Besides, PTL, like Eicher, was strong in the North and would thus
complement M&M's strong presence in the West and South. But, only provided M&M
restored it to its former health and integrated it successfully into its fold.
Inputs from employees – First step towards restoration of PTL’s health – The man
assigned the challenging task of turning around PTL was Bishwambhar Mishra, who at
the time was heading M&M's operations in China, but was brought back as PTL's
managing director in July 2007. The first crucial step he took was to commission an


external agency to find out what was wrong with the company by interviewing its 300odd employees, who spoke out freely. They said PTL had neither a vision nor a long-term
plan; decision making was slow and invariably top down; production was not market
linked; and no major investments in product development had been made in recent years.
The outcome was revealing as the employees didn’t hold back their thoughts.
Further, they sought a clear vision of the company's future, a major thrust towards
product development, large scale training, skill development and better welfare measures
for themselves and better control on overbearing labor union.
Long term and short term goals – The new management set forth on creating the vision
document and named it Nayi Manzil (new destination), which was to make Swaraj one of
the top two tractor brands in the country.
An important shorter goal was also set, called '3-2-3' - in three years, the revenue should
double and the profits, treble. Just how this would be achieved was also laid down in a
document called Nayi Disha (new direction). Its overall thrust was to make PTL an
innovation-led, customer driven, performance-centric organization with a participative
management culture.
But more immediate details also had to be taken care of. PTL was in a financial mess.
Though it was still profitable when M&M took it over, it had a huge inventory of unsold
stock while out of its total sales of Rs 969 crore that year, Rs 600 crore had yet to be
collected.
As per Mr. Mishra, the first six months were spent liquidating stock, improving collections
and securitization of debt. He set up a Swaraj Leadership Team consisting of himself and
all the other functional heads to take major decisions quickly. Similar leadership teams
were set up for other divisions as well which ensured participatory management.
Growth drivers – The initial problems tackled, 'growth drivers' were launched in early
2008. The sales division was remodeled and dealerships extended. A brand building
exercise began with a flurry of TV advertisements, backed by retail finance, tied up with
Mahindra Finance. Productivity and quality improvement targets were set. PTL was


finally merged into M&M and became its 'Swaraj Division' in 2008/09. Product
development too followed.
New products, R&D spend, etc – Even before the acquisition by M&M, Swaraj products
were rugged and known for their durability. Competitors used to benchmark themselves
against PTL when it came to frugal engineering. The new management built on these
strengths; they identified product gaps and invested Rs 800 crore in R&D. Global expertise
was sought if required. The management worked with engineering group AVL Austria to
upgrade the Swaraj engines to improve fuel efficiency and meet new emission norms.
The fit and finish of the tractors - a chink in Swaraj's armour earlier - was refined and
finally two new products were launched in 2009 and 2010 after a gap of many years.
Labor Union – How did the management deal with them? It was not all smooth sailing
for the new management. The PTL union, used to having its way with the earlier
management, resisted the push for greater discipline and higher productivity by resorting
to a 'go-slow'. But the new men in charge had provided plenty of carrots along with the
stick and soon the union had no choice but to relent.
Soon after the acquisition the management rolled out many benefits which were beyond
the expectations of the employees. Salaries were raised to align them with those in the
market, medical benefits were improved, the canteen was refurbished, greater safety
measures were introduced and higher involvement of employees' families with the
workplace was encouraged.
Thus, on the one hand they ruthlessly demanded performance, but on the other they
showed their human side too.
Has M&M been able to turn around PTL? Production has risen to 70,000 units from
28,045 in FY 08 when the acquisition took place. During the same period standalone
revenue trebled to around Rs 3,000 crore from Rs 969 crore, while profit has risen more
than six times to over Rs 500 crore from Rs 65 crore. Swaraj, with a market share of 13.1
per cent now ranks No. 3, behind only M&M badged tractors itself and TAFE. The
combined market share of M&M and Swaraj is a formidable 42 per cent.


Punjab Tractors's fortunes changed after the M&M acquisition
Production
(units)

Market
Share

FY 08

28045

FY 12

69292

Industry
Ranking

Revenue

Profit

9%

969 crore

65 crore

5

13.10%

3000 crore

500 crore

3

By 2009/10, M&M had recovered its investment in Swaraj. Indeed, in many tractor
markets, Swaraj is now M&M'S closest competitor.
Deming Prize and very high rating on customer satisfaction – Swaraj Tractors is now the
second tractor company in the world to have won the coveted Deming Award (Mahindra
Tractors got the award in 2003). Deming Prize is the highest prize in best manufacturing
practices and was awarded to the company on 14th Nov’12 in Tokyo.
Besides, Swaraj Division of M&M now leads overall Farm Equipment Sector (FES) of
M&M in terms of customer satisfaction index.

Growth drivers for the tractors industry
Coming back to Swaraj Engines, while good/bad monsoon is a key determinant of tractor
sales in any particular year, we believe the long term prospects of the industry are bright
on account of the following factors.
1. Shrinking human resource and land for agriculture.
2. Government’s focus on food security and high minimum support prices for farm
produce.
3. Under-penetration of farm mechanization. The power productivity relationship
shows that those states having higher farm power availability/ha have higher
productivity and therefore the additional requirement of food grains in future is
likely to be met through improving productivity by using more farm equipment.


4. Increasing financing from Private Sector banks and NBFCs as the NPAs are low.
Today 50-55% financing is done by NBFCs and Private Banks against almost 0% a
few years back.
5. Schemes such as NREGA which are diverting people away from farm labor to
government projects
6. Shorter replacement cycle – The conventional markets such as Punjab, Haryana and
western Uttar Pradesh have been saturated for years, however the shrinking
replacement cycle of tractors (from 10-12 years to 8-9 years) has resulted in strong
replacement demand in these markets.
We must grow more food from less land and human resources – One doesn’t need a
crystal ball to predict the two most crucial challenges that Indian agriculture will face in
the coming years. If the shrinking resources of land and water are one, the other more
serious concern is the availability of human resources.
Some time ago, the Minister of State for Agriculture announced in the Lok Sabha that the
agriculture sector is on the verge of losing four million workers in the Twelfth Plan period.
The 2011 Census points to another important trend. The movement of labor away from
agriculture has gathered momentum in recent decades. The result that has attracted the
most attention is that the farmer population has shrunk by nine million between 2001 and
2011.
Owing to the pressure of population, the average size of land holding is also getting even
more fragmented over time.
Infusion of technologies – One doesn’t need to be an expert to understand that Indian
agriculture needs infusion of technologies, including mechanization, as there is scarcity of
labor to undertake activities such as weeding in corn cultivation or manual transplantation
in rice cultivation.


Further, a positive relationship has been observed between farm power availability and
average yields of food grain. As can be observed above, states with higher availability of
farm power have, in general, higher productivity as compared to the others.
Although India is the largest manufacturer of tractors in the world, accounting for onethird of the global production, farm mechanization in India is still at a nascent stage, with
the average farm power availability in the country lower than in countries such as Korea,
Japan and the US.


Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar recently informed MPs that in order to attain
the projected demand of 280 MT of food grains by 2020-21, farm power availability in the
country has to be scaled up to at least 2.0 kw/ha by the end of the Twelfth Plan (2012-2017)
from 1.68 kw/ha at the end of 2011.
Govt. support for agriculture & rural development – Agriculture employs over 50% of
the domestic workforce and remains a key focus area for the GoI. In order to ensure selfsufficiency in food grain production in the backdrop of a rising population, state agencies
have assumed a greater role as facilitators of technology adoption. GoI has consistently
increased its budget outlay for agriculture and allied activities and also increased its
allocations for schemes like Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RYVY) to boost farm output
and improve labor productivity.

Further, subsidies on fertilizers, electricity and diesel have also supported rural
prosperity, and favorably influenced the demand-side drivers of farm mechanization.
In the short term, increase in spending towards agriculture could be affected by lack of
fiscal flexibility available with the government; however, over the long term, the rural
sector should continue to see large investments towards overall infrastructure
development and improved accessibility of various farm mechanization tools such as
tractors and power tillers.
Buoyancy in rural income with higher minimum support prices (MSPs) – Ever since the
UPA government came to power in 2004, MSPs for many crops has more than doubled.


The MSP of rabi crops like wheat registered 10.7% CAGR between FY06 and FY12, 11.2%
CAGR for rice and ~15% for pulses.

Higher MSPs lead to higher disposable income at the farmers’ end. Higher income levels
coupled with appreciating land value has enabled a larger farm audience to adopt tilling
and planting machinery.
Credit flow to agriculture fuels industry volumes – There exists a strong correlation
between farm mechanization and availability of agri-credit. While scheduled commercial
banks are mandated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to meet a target of 18% of their net
banking credit for the agricultural sector, growth is driven by increased lending by nonbanking finance companies, especially in the southern states.


Institutional credit to the farm sector increased at a CAGR of 19.9% from FY06 to Rs.
446,779 crore in FY11. Apart from increase in the magnitude of credit availability, the
sector has also benefited from introduction of innovative credit delivery schemes such as
the Kisan Credit Cards (KCC)
However, despite government’s push for credit coverage for the entire farming
community, only 50% of total farmer households in India are under agricultural credit
net which includes both formal and informal sources of credit.
According to a National Sample Survey Organization report on indebtedness of farmer
households, of the 89.35 million farmer households, 43.42 million households are under
debt. The report says that the most important source of loan in terms of percentage of
outstanding loan amount is banks (36%) followed by moneylenders (26%) and cooperative societies (20%)
Thus, there’s still immense potential for expansion of agri-credit to farmer households
which will drive the sales of tractors and other farm machinery.

---------------Left intentionally blank---------------


Swaraj Engines – Performance Snapshot
As discussed above, since the takeover of PTL by M&M, the “Swaraj” brand of tractors
have reported strong growth and so has Swaraj Engines as it manufactures engines for
~80% of the “Swaraj” tractors manufactured in a year.

FY 08

FY 09

FY 10

FY 11

FY 12

FY 13

TTM

Engines Sold (in No.)

16408

28539

39143

47413

55239

57377

61146

Income from Operations

125.54

208.17

282.44

360.63

448.58

470.03

499.03

23.9

31.87

49.57

60.71

69.37

71.49

75.57

19.04%

15.31%

17.55%

16.83%

15.46%

15.21%

15.14%

Other Income

2.75

5.04

9.98

8.1

12.24

15.32

16.94

Interest Cost

0.02

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.08

0.15

0.16

Depreciation

4.59

4.69

4.84

4.46

4.26

7.16

7.88

22.04

32.22

54.71

64.35

77.27

79.5

84.47

7.68

10.95

17.36

20.44

24.45

24.1

25.95

Profit After Tax

14.36

21.27

37.35

43.91

52.82

55.4

58.52

Cash flows from Operations

39.85

31.53

37.1

30.56

49.87

47.46

18.08%

23.64%

34.00%

31.94%

31.21%

29.16%

Operating Profit
Operating Profit Margin (%)

Profit Before Tax
Tax expense

ROAE (return on avg. equity)

Besides good growth, what is noteworthy is the quality of growth; the company has done
well on all the metrics such as cash flow generation, return on equity, margins etc.
Excluding the impact of other income, the cash flows from operations have been higher
than the reported profits as there’s virtually immediate payment terms with M&M.
The company recently enhanced its capacity of engines in two phases from 42,000 per
annum at the end of Mar’11 to 75,000 engines per annum at the end of Mar’13. It incurred
a sum of 95 crores on the above expansion and funded it entirely through internal
accruals.
Despite the above expansion, Swaraj Engines still had ~110 crores surplus cash with it
(after accounting for total dividend of Rs 33/- per share for FY 13 and other provisions) at
the end of Mar’13 which is 19% of its current market cap of 580 crores.


Cash and Cash equivalents (investments in
various mutual fund schemes) and zero debt

We believe, in order for shareholders to realize gains from their investments, it is
important for the company to grow, however what is even more important is the quality
of growth. It’s been observed in a lot many cases that the managements are hell bent upon
conjuring higher sales and profitability at the cost of sacrificing the quality of their balance
sheet and cash flows. Over a period of time, such companies end up in debt traps with
abysmal returns for the shareholders.


However, Swaraj Engines’s balance sheet is an investor’s delight. The company has
reported decent growth and their strong cash flows from operations have enabled them
carry out requisite expansion as and when needed, while retaining debt free status.

Operating efficiency
Swaraj Engines could achieve the above depicted performance on account of gradual
improvement in operating and asset utilization efficiency and reduction in working capital
requirement in the last few years.

FY 08

FY 09

FY 10

FY 11

FY 12

FY 13

FY 14

Fixed assets

29.83

26.39

22.72

23.95

41.8

80.72

Avg. fixed assets

30.74

28.11

24.56

23.34

32.88

61.26

125.54

208.17

282.44

360.62

448.58

479.03

4.08

7.41

11.50

15.45

13.65

7.82

Installed Capacity of Engines

36000

36000

36000

42000

60000

60000

Engines Sold

16408

28539

39143

47413

55239

57377

79.28% 108.73% 112.89%

92.07%

95.63%

Sales
Sales to fixed assets ratio

Capacity Utilization rate (%)
Debt
Operating Profit margin (%)
Return on Avg. Equity
(ROAE)
Working capital to sales (%)

45.58%
0

0

0

0

0

0

19.04%

15.31%

17.55%

16.83%

15.46%

15.21%

18.08%

23.64%

34.00%

31.94%

31.21%

29.16%

15.33%

3.41%

0.21%

2.57%

1.38%

75000

1.83%

For FY 13, Sales to fixed assets ratio has declined to 7.82 from 13.65 in FY 12, however it’s
important to understand here that fixed asset value of 80.72 crores for FY 13 is yearend
value while the expanded capacity of 75,000 engines per annum was available starting FY
14 only.
What is good to note is that in the past Swaraj has achieved above 100% capacity
utilization rate and assuming they are able to repeat the same the current installed
capacity might be good enough for manufacturing 80,000-82,000 engines per annum.


Besides good asset utilization ratio, another factor that has contributed towards strong
operating performance of the company is immediate payment terms with M&M.
As evident from the above illustration, the working capital requirement of the company is
just about 2% of its sales i.e. 9-10 crores which can be easily funded from internal accruals
as against many other companies which have to depend on working capital loans and
therefore bear the burden of interest cost.
As far as return on equity is concerned, it’s been excellent in the past and the company is
likely to generate strong returns, on full capacity utilization, even on the recent capital
expenditure of 95 crores.
Particulars

Impact of 95 crore CAPEX

Engine Sales (in no.)
Engine Sales (in value)
OPM (%)

Assumptions from past record

33000
260 crore 450 crore sales for 57377 tractors in FY 13
15.00%

15.21% operating margin in FY 13

Operating profit

39 crore

assuming 15% operating margin

Profit Before tax

34 crore

after accounting for depreciation

PAT

23 crore

Return on Investment (ROI)

24%

Growth opportunities for Swaraj Engines
Swaraj Engines’ growth has been directly proportional to India’s agriculture story. We
expect tractors to do well in the long term, led by more scope for productivity, low
penetration, need for mechanization, higher MSPs and policies (NREGA). The company’s
revenue is assured by supply for Swaraj tractors, where volume growth rates have been
healthy so far.
M&M manufactured ~70,000 Swaraj Tractors in FY 13 while Swaraj Engines supplied
57,377 engines, thus meeting 82% of the engines requirement. As can be observed from the


below illustration, Swaraj Engines has increased its share of engines requirement of Swaraj
Tractors from around 58.5% in FY 08 to around 82% in FY 13.

FY 08

FY 09

FY 10

FY 11

FY 12

FY 13

Swaraj Tractors sales

28045

NA

49422

60997

69292

NA

Swaraj Engines sales

16408

28539

39143

47413

55239

57377

79.20%

77.73%

79.72%

Swaraj Engines's share (%)

58.51%

NA - Not available

With the expansion in capacity to 75,000 engines per annum, Swaraj Engines is now
expected to cater to 90% requirement of Swaraj Tractors.
Considering Swaraj Engines’s capability of above 100% utilization rate, the current
capacity might be sufficient only till the end of FY 15, because even Swaraj Tractors is
expanding its capacity to 90,000 tractors per annum and the same should be on-stream
starting Apr’14. It’s important to note here that the management of Swaraj Engines has
indicated that it intends to increase production to 100,000 engines at its present location
when the need arises.
Besides, if management of M&M so chooses, Swaraj can also supply engines to other
Mahindra brand tractors in future since it is one of the lowest-cost and one of the most
fuel-efficient engines.


Shareholding pattern

Promoter
and
Promoter Group
India
Foreign
Public
Institutions
FII
DII
Non-Institutions
Bodies Corporate
Custodians
Total

Sep’13
50.62%

Jun’13
50.62%

Mar’13
50.62%

Dec’12
50.62%

Sep’12
50.62%

50.62%

50.62%

50.62%

50.62%

50.62%

49.38%

49.38%

49.38%

49.38%

49.38%

12.34%
1.90%
10.44%
37.04%
4.41%

12.03%
1.45%
10.58%
37.35%
4.76%

12.43%
1.53%
10.90%
36.95%
4.26%

13.70%
1.53%
12.17%
35.68%
3.48%

14.79%
1.75%
13.04%
34.59%
2.70%

1,24,19,820

1,24,19,820

1,24,19,820

1,24,19,820

1,24,19,820

With the acquisition of Punjab Tractors, M&M indirectly acquired 33.22% stake in the
company and is now the largest shareholder and the promoter of the company. Kirloskar
Industries co-promoted Swaraj Engines with PTL in 1986 and is even now the co-promoter
of the company with 17.39% stake.
M&M and Kirloskar Industries cumulatively hold 50.62% stake in the company.


In 2009, there were rumors of M&M negotiating with Kirloskar to buy out its 17.39% stake
so as to consolidate its holding and further expand diesel engines business; however the
same was not implemented.
We believe, if at all the above plan is executed in future, it would be beneficial for all the
shareholders of the company.
As on 30th Sep’13, the details of the major shareholders of the company and their stakes are
as below:
Name of the shareholder

Category

% stake in Swaraj Engines

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Kirloskar Industries Ltd
Reliance Capital – Tax saver (ELSS) Fund
Reeta Keyur Parikh
Reliance Capital – Regular Saving Fund
SBI Magnum Multicap Fund
Vikram Chinubhai Shah
SBI Magnum Midcap Fund
Keyur H Parikh

Promoter
Promoter
Public
Public
Public
Public
Public
Public
Public

33.22%
17.39%
4.97%
1.67%
1.51%
1.42%
1.42%
1.32%
1.11%

Dividend Policy
Dividend Payout ratio
Dividend
Payout ratio

Mar’08
43.25%

Mar’09
29.18%

Mar’10
26.60%

Mar’11
28.28%

Mar’12
30.57%

Mar’13
73.98%

For the past 6 years Swaraj Engines has consistently been distributing more than 25% of its
net profits in the form of dividends.
Recently, considering the surplus cash with the company and no major fund requirement
(having already expanded engines capacity to 75,000/- per annum) in the foreseeable
future, the company paid a dividend of Rs 33/- per share (including Special dividend of Rs
20/- per share) to its shareholders.


In our view the above is reflective of the fact that management does not wish to hoard
excess cash and is willing to share the wealth with minority shareholders.
For FY 14, we expect the company to pay around Rs 16-17 per share as dividend i.e. a
dividend yield of ~3.5%

Valuations
Before discussing valuations, let’s recall all that we have learnt about Swaraj Engines and
the tractors industry in the above sections:


It’s a part of Mahindra group which is one of the best corporate houses of India



A focused company selling engines to M&M’s Swaraj Tractors division which itself
is performing extremely well



Strong long term structural drivers for the tractors industry in the form of low
tractor penetration, scarcity of farm labor, strong agricultural credit, govt. support
in the form of higher MSPs and higher budgetary allocation and steady
replacement demand



Strong operating performance in terms of growth, margins, return on equity, cash
flow generation



Debt free with surplus cash to the tune of ~20% of the current market cap



Good dividend policy with management not interested in hoarding very high
amounts of cash

Despite all the above, at around current price of 460-470 the stock is available at 10 times
trailing twelve months earnings and ~8.5 times 1 year forward earnings (assuming 20%
growth in the light of expansion in capacity, good monsoon and strong tractor sales). In
the past, the stock has largely traded in the range of 9-12 times 1 year forward earnings.
Considering the quality of operations, majority shareholding of M&M and the long term
prospects of the industry, the valuations look reasonable to us. However, it’s important to
keep in mind that bad monsoon can play a spoilsport in any particular year and that
should be used as an opportunity to increase allocation at lower prices.


Risks & Concerns
As discussed in the above sections, Swaraj Engines derives 95% of its business from single
client i.e. Mahindra and therefore it can be a matter of concern for some, however M&M
itself is the promoter of Swaraj Engines and sets very high standards of corporate
governance. So, unless M&M divests its stake, we don’t think there’s any risk of loss of
business from Mahindra.
Good monsoon holds key – Timing, distribution and magnitude of rainfall during the
south-west monsoon are some variables that influence the kharif crop output, and bear on
the domestic tractor market. Though dependence on the monsoon has lessened, ~50% of
agriculture is still monsoon dependent. For instance, inadequate rainfall in FY 13 resulted
in 2% decline in tractor sales in comparison to FY 12 and similarly surplus and well
distributed rainfall in FY 14 has already boosted tractor sales in the Jun and Sep’13
quarters.
Adverse government policies such as farm loan waiver can dampen the spirits of lenders
who are actively pursuing tractor loans and thus supporting growth of tractor sales in
domestic market.


Disclaimer: Nothing published herein should be considered as personalized investment advice. Although our
employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under laws to address your
particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized
investment advice.
It should be noted that the information contained herein is from publicly available data or other sources believed to
be reliable. Neither Katalyst Wealth, nor any person connected with it accepts any liability arising from the use of this
document. This document is prepared for assistance only and is not intended to be and must not be taken as the basis
for any investment decision. The investment discussed or views expressed may not be suitable for all investors. The
user assumes the entire risk of any use made of this information. The recipients of Katalyst Wealth material should
rely on their own investigations and take their own professional advice. Each recipient of Katalyst Wealth should make
such investigations as it deems necessary to arrive at an independent evaluation of an investment referred to in this
document (including the merits and risks involved), and should consult its own advisers to determine the merits and
risks of such an investment. Price and value of the investments referred to in this material may go up or down.


Swaraj Engines Ltd (NSE - SWARAJENG) - Oct'13 Katalyst Wealth Alpha Recommendation

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